Sanctioned Lawyer Quickly Drops Libel Claims Against Avvo

Sanctioned Florida attorney Larry Joe Davis Jr. takes back defamation allegations only two weeks after filing the lawsuit

Seattle, Wash — Only weeks after suingAvvo, Inc. (www.avvo.com), the world’s largest legal directory, St. Petersburg, FL attorney Larry Joe Davis Jr., has dropped his libel claims and has replaced them with claims of invasion of privacy and false advertising.

“This is a tragedy and a comedy,” said Mark Britton, Founder and CEO of Avvo. “It’s a tragedy in that Mr. Davis is attempting to silence Avvo’s transparency regarding his significant misconduct history.  It’s a comedy in that Mr. Davis repeatedly argues that he is a great lawyer, and yet he filed a poorly researched complaint only to replace it with a product of even lesser quality.”

Read the amended complaint here: http://avvoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Sanctioned-Lawyer-Drops-Complaint.pdf

Mr. Davis first sued Avvo for defamation on August 26, 2010 in Circuit Court in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Mr. Davis’ free Avvo Profile, which includes an editorial Avvo Rating of 3.7 “Caution,” is impacted by the fact that he was reprimanded and placed on probation by the Florida Bar in 2007 after twice being found guilty of willfully refusing to pay court-ordered child support, failing to appear for his court dates and willfully obstructing the Bar’s disciplinary process.

This lawsuit is not the first time a sanctioned lawyer has attempted to use a lawsuit to keep Avvo from providing consumers with greater transparency regarding lawyers and their professional conduct. In June 2007, only nine days after the website’s launch, Avvo was sued by John Henry Browne, a sanctioned Seattle lawyer. That case was quickly dismissed by the United States District Court in Seattle in a published decision strongly upholding Avvo’s First Amendment right to publish information and its opinions about lawyers.

About Avvo
Avvo is the only free website that empowers consumers to handle their legal matters with confidence. Avvo offers ratings and profiles for 90% of U.S. lawyers, as well as client reviews, peer reviews and attorney disciplinary records. Avvo also offers the world’s largest question and answer forum where people can ask real attorneys – anonymously if desired – any legal question and receive personalized answers. Additionally, Avvo Legal Guides are a resource of lawyer-generated best practices for consumers seeking guidance on their legal issues. The website currently covers all 50 states and in the United States and the District of Columbia. Founded in early 2006 and launched in 2007, Avvo is privately held, with funding from private investors, Benchmark Capital, Ignition Partners and DAG Ventures. For more information, visit www.avvo.com.